MP Laming faces no fallout for tweet gaffe

Date: January 15 2013

Nathan Paull

The federal coalition's indigenous health spokesman will keep his job despite widespread criticism of his comments on Twitter about violent racial clashes in a multicultural community south of Brisbane.

Federal MP Andrew Laming took to the social networking site on Monday night after clashes between Aboriginal and Pacific Islander communities at Logan continued for the third night running.

"Mobs tearing up Logan. Did any of them do a day's work today, or was it business as usual and welfare on tap?" the federal MP for Bowman wrote.

He said Mr Laming had appropriately followed up with a clarifying tweet, which suggested he meant to say that training and employment were key ways to solve the community's issues.

Mr Truss said the coalition had promised to create a million new jobs, which would help social cohesion and prevent a repeat of the clashes.

But other leaders were not as forgiving.

Logan Mayor Pam Parker questioned what Mr Laming was thinking.

"It's inflammatory and a person in public office should know better than to put a tweet out like that," she told ABC radio.

Federal Trade Minister Craig Emerson accused Mr Laming of posting the "disgraceful tweet" in a bid to inflame a tense situation for political gain.

State MP for Woodridge Desley Scott, whose electorate is centred on Logan, said Mr Laming should urge the state government to reinstate the axed Skilling Queenslanders for Work employment program if he was serious about jobs being a solution.

"If Mr Laming wants to do something positive and is interested in employment issues in the Logan area, he could start by pressing his state colleagues to reinstate the programs they have cut for no good reason," she said in a statement.

Sione Palau, 26, a Tongan man involved in the clashes, said Mr Laming's comments were "rubbish".

"We (Pacific Islander mates) all work night shifts as labourers," he told AAP.

Mr Laming has not responded to AAP's requests for comment.

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